Improvement in self-acting spinning-mules



A. METGALF & W. GIBBONS.

, Self-Acting Spinning Mules No. 134,915. Patentedlan.14,1873.

ing motion in spinning-mules;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SELF-ACTING SPlNNlNG-MULES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 134,915, dated January 14, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, AARON M ETCALF and WILLIAM GIBBONs, of Preston, in the county of Lancaster and Kingdom of Great Britain, have invented certain. Improvements in Self- Acting Spinning-Mules, of which the following is a specification:

Our present invention relates to what is generally known as the strapping or governand its object is to obtain more certainty and regularity in the winding of the yarn or thread on the cop, and producing a more uniformly-even thread by preventing cut places, snarls, and backlashed cop-bottoms, which frequently result from the governing motions heretofore in use, in which the minders close attention is necessary until the cop reaches its desired thickness. With this invention no attention is required from the beginning to the completion of the cop, and the building up of such cop will go on automatically without care on the part of the attendant. The system may be adopted with any size or shape of cop-bottom, or any counts of yarn,'from the highest to the lowest.

The drawing accompanying this specification represents inFigure la plan, and in Fig. 2 a side elevation, of the parts of a spinningmule requisite to show the application and operation of our invention. 7

In the drawing, A represents the frame of the head-stock of a spinning-mule, the quadrant-arm, as it is termed, being shown at B as composed of a sectoral rack, a, and an upright vibratory hollow arm, b, the quadrantarm thuscomposed being mounted and vibrating upon ahorizonta-l stud projecting from the lower part of the frame A. Within the hollow arm b is disposed a long screw, G, which rotates in suitable bearings formed in or applied to such arm. The traveling mulecarriage is shown at I, and the faller-rods at O O, the latter being the counter faller-rod, the said carriage I and faller rods 0 O, with the frame Aland quadrantarm B, being the construction of spinning-mules in use prior to our invention. 0 in the drawing represents a pendulous rod, suspended from the upper part of the arm B by a horizontal pivot, D, the said rod 0 being of a length about equal to that of the arm B, and terminating at'the bottom in a horizontal quadrant-rack, E, the teeth of which are formed upon its. under side. Working upon the screw G is a nut or carrier, H, whichtravels to and fro of the arm B, and is provided at the front side of the latter with a set-screw or adjustable stop, 0, which serves to estop the forward movement of the pendulum-rod G. The connection of the pendulous rod 0 with the screw G is as follows: To the lower end of such screw, and immediately below the vibratory arm B, we attach a beveled or miter gear;.6, which meshes into a second beveled gear, f, making part of a sleeve, g, which revolves freely upon a horizontal stud, h; a pinion, i, also being formed upon the outer end of said sleeve, which meshes into a spur-gear, j, mounted and freely revolving upon the outer end of a secondhorizontal stud, 7c, projecting from the lower part of the arm B, and parallel to and. about on a level with the stud h before named, the said studs h and 7c and the pinion i and gears f and j rocking with the said arm B. Between the gear j and the arm B I mount, upon the stud k, atoothed or indented wheel, Z, into which the teeth of the rack E take, and drive it in whichever direction such rack trav. els, the gear j and wheel I being connected by a suitable clutch in such manner that, as the quadrant-arm O is driven outward by the going out of the mule-carriage, the wheel l adheres to and drives the gear j, and, by means of such gear and the pinioni and gears f and j, rotates the screw in the direction to elevate the nut H, while, with a reverse or dropping motion of the arm 0 in the forward dip of the arm B, the wheel l slips over without actuating the gear j. Consequently, at such time, the screw Gand nut H remain motionless,

The chain which is wound about the drum of the spindle-driving mechanism is attached to the nut or carrier H, and the nearer the said nut approaches the top of the arm the slower the spindles revolve. As the paying out or this chain with the forward dip or vibration of the arm B in the going in of the mulecarriage governs the speedof the revolving spindles and cops, and as the speed of such spindles and cops during the laying on of yarn to the latter, must be diminished gradually with the increasing bulk of the cops, it follows that the screw Gr must be rotated gradually in one direction during the windin g of such cops,

speed of the spindles.

' In carrying our invention into practical Operation we proceed as follows: Heretofore the mechanism which has operated the screw G has been usually an endless band and a weighted lever connected with the faller-rod in such manner that the undue tension of the yarn upon the latter lowers the weight or ball of the lever into contact with one side of the band, and adheres to the latter with friction sufficient to drag the belt along with it, and thus operate the screw to which the band is connected. In this case the weight often slips upon the belt without carrying the latter along with it, in which event the whole arrangement is very unreliable and uncertain.

In order to effect the elevation of the nut H by a mechanical device which is positive in its action, and in so doing carry out the novel and valuablefeature in this invention, we have employed, as a part thereof, the quadrant-arm 0, while to operate this arm, and through it the screw and nut at the proper time, we attach to the counter faller-rod 0 a curved or bowshaped bar, P, which bends about and below the rod 0, and is pivoted at its lower end to the upper extremity of a swinging rod or cimeter, R, which it supports, the lower end of such rod, thus suspended, playing within a slotted segmental shelf or bracket, T, whose upper face is nearly or quite concentric with the point of suspension of the rod, and is provided with saw-teeth m m, &c., sloping away from the base of the shelf T, in order to intercept and lock temporarily to the latter the .cimeter It in whatever advanced position the lat ter may be forced by the tension of the yarn. Sliding upon and to and fro of the cimeter R, and engaging with the teeth m m, is a tubular pawl or slider, a, which engages with some one of said teeth when advanced by the said cimeter. To the floor of the mule-room, and in the path of the cimeter R, we pivot, to a suitable post, p, a horizontal latch, r, in such manner that it shall be immovable beyond a certain pointin a rearward direction, and yieldin g in the opposite, and return to such point by its own volition, or by the power of a spring applied to it. In the course of winding the cop the tension upon the yarn often becomes too great, and this tension of the yarn lowers in the ordinary manner the faller-wire to which the cimeter Bis attached; consequently the said cimeter is lowered more or less, accordin g to the degree of said tension. As the mulecarriage goes in the cimeter R will, if too much tension is upon the yarn, be lowered so far as to abut against the stop or latch r and lap thereon, more or less, according to the extent of the tension, and this contact of the cimeter with the stop advances the former and its pawl along the teeth m until the cimeter escapes from the latch, the pawl then remaininglocked to the tooth whichitlast passed. On the next ensuing going out of the mulecarriage the lower end of the cimeter abuts against the rack E of the arm (J or a lateral stud, q, applied to it, and, by driving such arm outward, turns, to a greater or less extent,-the screw G. This rotation of the screw G elevates the nut H, which, through the agency of the chain attached to it, reduces the speed of the spindles and relaxes the tension upon the yarns. If the relaxation of the tension of the yarn is carried too far the faller-wire rises and elevates the cimeter R to such an extent that its pawl n is lifted out of contact with the teeth m and the cimeter allowed to return by its gravity to the slotted bracket T. This elevation of the cimeter raises it above the'plane of the stop 1", and consequently with the next going in of the mule-carriage the cimeter passes such stop without impinging against or being advanced upon its rack by it, and therefore the distance to which the rod 0 is pushed outward by it is much less, and the screw only actuated sufficiently to keep pace with the accumulating cop. Upon completion of the cop the nut H will have reached nearly or quite the top of the arm B and its screw G. To return the nut and chain to their lowest position in starting a new cop, the pendulous rod 0 is pushed outward until it escapes from contact with the wheel Z when the motion of the screw may be reversed and the nut and chain lowered. The mule thus becomes selfacting and requiring no attention from the minder from the beginning of the formation of the cop until its completion.

It will be evident that various modifications may be made in the mode of communicating motion from the rod 0 to the screw G other than that herein shown, and we do not consider ourselves limited to any especial device for the purpose.

As a substitute for the pendulous bar 0, we propose to employ the following-that is to say, we apply to the top and bottom of the vibratory or swinging arm B a pulley, and around these two pulleys we place an endless band or chain, which we secure in a proper manner to the nut which actuates the payingout chain attached to it. We then dispose within suitable bearings applied to the vibratory bar B a horizontally-sliding rod or bar, having a head affixed to one end and a toothed rack formed upon the other to take into the wheel I, and operate in manner as with the sectoral rack E before named, the bar being operated by the cimeter in the manner in which the latter operates the said rack.

In lieu of the beveled gear f and the pinion t' united by the sleeve 9, and serving to communicate motion from the rod 0 to the screw G, we propose to separate the sleeve and pinion from the gear, andjfit them loosely upon the stud h, connecting the sleeve with the gear by a pawl and ratchet, or other clutch connection of such nature that as the pinion isrotated toward the mule-carriage it shall be locked to and carry with it the beveled gear 6, but on the reverse movement shall slip over without actuating such gear. Under this arrangement the wheel l is to constitute tate with it.

We claim as our invention the following:

1. In combination with the vibratory arm, feed-screw, and nut and chain of a spinninginule, a swinging or pendulous rod connected with said 'arm, screw-nut, and chain, as described, so as to turn the screw and elevate the nut with the going out of the mule-carriage, provided too much tension exists upon the yarn, and to allow the screw and nut to remain motionless upon return or going in of said carriage, essentially as and for purposes stated.

2. The pendulous rod 0 suspended from the arm b, as stated, and provided at the bottom with a suitable sectoral rack or its equivalent, for operating, through the agency of intervenpart of the pinion j and roing mechanism, in the manner and for purposes stated.

3: In combination with the rod Gand nut B, an adjustable stop for determiningthe comparative drop of such rod with the inward dip of the vibratory arm 11, substantially as stated.

AARON METGALF. WILLIAM GIBBONS.

Witnesses to both signatures:

JAS. CLARKE,

Clerk to Messrs. Gnnllfie &; Watson,

. Solicitors, Preston. ALFRED CUNNINGHAM,

. Clerk to Messrs. Ounllfie (1 Watson, Solicitors, Preston, Lancashlre,

England.

the feed-screw G, essentially 

